About the Journal
1. Purpose of the Journal
Letras Históricas is a continuously published journal, edited by the Universidad de Guadalajara (Mexico) through the Department of History, Division of Historical and Human Studies, at the Centro Universitario de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades (CUCSH). The journal is primarily concerned with history as a discipline; however, it is also open to the relationship between historical research and the social sciences and humanities. In this regard, Letras Históricas publishes original and unpublished articles that are the result of high-level academic research. Through this, the journal aims to foster dialogue and debate on the ongoing construction of historiographical knowledge, based on a reflective contrast of different perspectives and opinions.
Letras Históricas is an Open Access publication, and its ethical guidelines for peer review and academic editing adhere to international standards, as required by the indexing databases in which the journal is registered. It consists of two sections:
Entramados, which includes works on historical interpretation, historiographical critique, or theoretical-methodological proposals.
Testimonios, which presents research focused on a specific primary source or the edition of an unpublished document preceded by a detailed analysis.
2. Target Academic Community
Letras Históricas is aimed at a diverse academic audience, including historians as well as researchers and students from across the spectrum of the social sciences and humanities.
3. Academic Fields Covered
The journal is primarily concerned with history as a discipline. However, it also acknowledges the connections between historical research and the social sciences and humanities. Letras Históricas covers both remote and contemporary historical periods, as well as local, regional, and global historical processes.
4. Peer Review Process and Procedure
Letras Históricas accepts submissions of research articles and essays with theoretical or methodological contributions. Every submission undergoes a double-blind peer review process, where at least two approving reviews are required, ensuring the complete anonymity of both authors and reviewers.
The review process follows these steps:
Once a manuscript is received through the Open Journal System (OJS), the editorial board—comprising the director, editor, and technical secretary—reviews and approves it for peer evaluation.
The assigned reviewer has one month to complete the review and submit the report via OJS.
The editorial team then sends the reviews to the author, either notifying them of a rejection or requesting revisions before publication.
If a manuscript receives one positive and one negative review, a third review will be sought to determine the final decision.
Throughout the process, the editorial board ensures that the article meets the journal’s editorial guidelines and adheres to the reviewers’ feedback.
To maintain ethical standards, no manuscript will be reviewed by an evaluator from the same institution as the author, and reviewers will be selected from different academic institutions. Additionally, Letras Históricas does not invite a reviewer to assess a new manuscript if they have participated within the past year.
5. Code of Ethics
Letras Históricas is committed to promoting ethical conduct in academic publishing and adheres to the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
The journal upholds ethical neutrality regarding the content of submitted articles, without prejudice towards religious, political, ethnic, gender-based, or any other ideological perspectives that may generate controversy or debate.
Our editorial process operates on good faith. The editorial board trusts the integrity of authors, as well as the fairness and academic professionalism of reviewers. Similarly, authors are expected to trust the integrity of the editors and reviewers. The editorial board ensures that editors, peer reviewers, and authors comply with ethical principles at every stage of the editorial process. These principles are outlined in our Ethics and Misconduct Declaration.
6. Institutional Diversity Policy
No more than 20% of the articles published in each issue of Letras Históricas may be authored by researchers affiliated with the Universidad de Guadalajara.
7. Types of Documents Published
Accepted Articles
Scientific Research Article: A product of original research, either completed or in progress, typically structured into four sections: introduction, methodology, results, and conclusions. It must offer a novel empirical or methodological contribution.
Historiographical Review Article: A study analysing historiographical production within a specific period, integrating findings from previous research into a comprehensive review. This type of article requires an extensive bibliographical analysis and must present an original research proposal or methodological critique.
Theoretical or Methodological Reflection Article: A research-based analysis, interpretation, or critique of a specific or general topic, referencing original sources or key classical and contemporary authors. It must provide an original theoretical or methodological contribution.
Testimonial Articles: Research presenting and analysing original documentary sources of historical significance, such as paintings, photographs, maps, inventories, blueprints, private letters, among others.
Reviews
As an indexed research journal, Letras Históricas no longer publishes book reviews in its regular continuous issues. However, recognising the academic value of reviews, we maintain an open invitation for submissions to be published separately on our website. Reviews must engage with books published within the last two years and be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
8. Languages of Publication
Letras Históricas publishes articles in Spanish and English, as submitted by the authors.
9. Publication Frequency
The journal follows a continuous publication model, with one issue per year.
10. Open Access Statement
Letras Históricas is committed to promoting open-access research by fostering transparency, accessibility, and equity in the dissemination of academic knowledge.
To advance scientific progress, all journal content is available under a diamond open-access model, with no fees for authors or readers. Articles are freely accessible through our website http://letrashistoricas.cucsh.udg.mx. More details can be found in our Open Access Declaration.
11. Repository Policy
The repository policy of Letras Históricas allows authors to retain copyright and freely archive the submitted, accepted, and published versions of their articles, provided they acknowledge the journal as the original place of publication and include a link to the official website.
Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Licence, permitting distribution and adaptation for non-commercial purposes with appropriate credit. The journal collaborates with institutional and public repositories, including SciELO, to ensure data protection and long-term accessibility.
Further details can be found in our Repository Policy.
12. Publishing Institution
Letras Históricas has an editorial board comprising a director, an editor-in-chief, and a technical secretary. The director must be affiliated with the Universidad de Guadalajara.
13. Preservation and Storage Policy
To ensure the long-term preservation of its digital content, Letras Históricas employs advanced storage and backup strategies aligned with international open-access and digital preservation standards:
PKP Preservation Network (PN): The journal has activated the PKP PN module, enabling automated preservation through a secure distributed server network.
Institutional Backup: Digital files are stored on Universidad de Guadalajara servers, with periodic backups to prevent data loss.
Open Repositories: Article metadata is preserved in open-access repositories and indexing databases, ensuring global visibility and availability.
14. Funding Model
Letras Históricas is funded by the Department of History, Division of Historical and Human Studies, Universidad de Guadalajara, which covers costs related to editing, digital and print publication, and dissemination.
